Environment from the Molecular Level A NERC eScience testbed project

G David Price

David Price is Vice Dean (Research) of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Faculty at University College London, and is Professor of Mineral Physics at both UCL and Birkbeck College London. He is also currently President of the Mineralogical Society.

Contact details:

Address:	Department of Earth Sciences University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT http://www.es.ucl.ac.uk/
Email:	d.price@ucl.ac.uk
Telephone:	020 7679 7083
Fax:	020 7387 1612
WWW:	http://www.es.ucl.ac.uk/people/d-price/index.htm

Background notes:

David Price (Schlumberger Medalist 1999, Member of the Academia Europaea 2000, Murchison Medalist 2002) is a mineral physicist, who 20 years ago was one of the first to established the now major field of computational mineral physics, and in this time has published over 150 research papers. This branch of the subject uses quantum mechanical and atomistic simulation methods to provide a quantitative microscopic description of mineralogical processes, and enables the calculation of the properties of planetary forming materials at for example the extreme pressure and temperatures found in planetary interiors. Thanks to the rapid development in high performance computing, the past decade has seen a major advance in the application of ab initio methods in the solution of high pressure and temperature geophysical problems. Price and colleagues have pioneered the application of these methods to Earth systems, and perhaps their most important recent contribution is the development of first-principles free energy and chemical potential computations for deep Earth phases. Price’s work has not just been computational, however, rather he has always combined experiment, theory and modeling to tackle major Earth Sciences problems. Specifically he has used x-ray, neutron and electron diffraction techniques to determine the structure and physical properties of materials, usually at high T or P, and theoretical crystal chemical and crystallographic analysis aimed at establishing the factors that determine the structural stability of inorganic phases. His research led to the discovery of the first natural occurrence of beta-Mg₂SiO₄, which he named wadsleyite, and which is now believed to be the major constituent of the upper part of the transition zone of the Earth’s mantle.